MVC :: Html.TextArea - Extra Line Break In The TextArea, Just Above The Original Text?

I'm working with an MVC1.0 web app and I've found a bit of an odd anomaly.

I have a search box on the first page (normal text box) and the input from this is passed through to the ViewData and on to the second page.

On the second page, I render a TextArea with this search input text from the ViewData.

Eg:

[Code]....

The problem is, there is an extra line break in the TextArea, just above the original text.

Stranger still is that if I now submit this page and the view is reloaded (after validation fails) - the original string of text has been trimmed and has no line breaks, but the TextArea now has 2 line breaks above the original text.

This can be repeated - every time the page reloads it has another line break.

It's driving me insane - does anyone have an idea on how to fix this?

FYI, you can check it out yourself - on your mobile phone, browse to [URL], punch something in the search box and hit search. You'll notice one line break added the first time the page loads. Then just hit "Find Best Offer" without entering a budget or selecting a category, and you'll see what I mean about the additional line breaks.